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Flippa Scam Buyer Warning Flippa siding with them

by girltime
11 replies
I sold a domain with a website on Flippa about a month ago.
The buyer disputed the sale twice with PP.
Before he disputed it a second time, he asked for me to refund his money.
Even though he had received the domain and website, I contemplated just refunding him because he was such a rude scary guy to deal with.
Called me repeatedly and demanded his money back. Even called me in middle of the night. No apology.
When Paypal found in my favor a second time, I decided not to refund him and let him keep the domain and website since it was a binding contract to buy and I was worn out from the headaches he already caused me.
He threatened to sue me and get him employer (some debt collection lawyer) to sue me.
I basically laughed in his face and reminded him he broke his contract after buying the domain and did Paypal disputes in bad faith.:confused:

Well long story short is he must be harassing and threatening Flippa.com, because even though they cancelled both disputes he created, their customer service wrote me that they will suspend me unless I refund him because they believe I have the domain and website.

I let them know that the whois database clearly shows that the website is hosted on servers that are clearly owned by the buyer and that even though he has made the Whois private, that I dont have the domain.
Instead of making him prove that I have the domain and website returned to me, I am in some bizarro world where I have to prove a negative.

I also contacted the registrar that I transferred the domain to and their legal department informed me that they would notify the current registrant that the whois was false.
I see that a few days later they have updated the whois to what appears to be another whois privacy service.

I am just really stunned that Flippa may side with a buyer who I know is lying to them, who is clearly in possession of the website.

I have a perfect sales record on Flippa and this is awful to be at the mercy of a lying scumball.

What do I do to show the real underlying whois and the trace that he has had possession since I transferred the site to him last month ?
#buyer #flippa #scam #siding #warning
  • Profile picture of the author imperets
    I don't get it, so if the WHOIS shows the server of the buyer, what else do you have to prove to Flippa? Can you share the nickname of that person so we can all avoid dealing with him?

    I've been selling on Flippa for over a year, and I've had a couple of nutters as buyers, but none of them ever called me in the middle of the night - that's crazy.
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    • Profile picture of the author girltime
      Originally Posted by imperets View Post

      I don't get it, so if the WHOIS shows the server of the buyer, what else do you have to prove to Flippa? Can you share the nickname of that person so we can all avoid dealing with him?

      I've been selling on Flippa for over a year, and I've had a couple of nutters as buyers, but none of them ever called me in the middle of the night - that's crazy.
      Right, I don't get it either.
      The whois for his server name shows his full information in whois.
      I don't know if I can share their name.
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      • Profile picture of the author taskemann
        Originally Posted by girltime View Post

        I don't know if I can share their name.
        No, don't share names and personal details on this forum thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    This is why I do not like dealing with flipping FLippa any more. What I suggest is that we use warrior forum to buy and sell sites to other warriors. Get real and wake up. Flippa is not going to give you back your web site ever. Yeah, your money is gone. Let me say that this is one poor company. Basically, they hate vendors and love COSTomers. Perhaps they have been attending the EBAY school of consumer service.
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  • Profile picture of the author lootbags2010
    I stopped using Flippa when they raised rates to $29 per listing.
    I think you might be able to show you don't have the domain anymore. I'm pretty sure Godaddy sends you an email when you initiate an account transfer or "push". (it usually says something like it's waiting on the receiver to accept) You could also try providing them a copy of your domain list showing all the domains you own.

    The transfer should show up in your history whether you use godaddy or namecheap.

    I don't know how to prove you transferred the website unless you have your customer replying they got the files in writing. I used to post the link to download the files in the flippa communication system so i have proof I attempted to give the buyer access to the files followed by a couple of contacts a couple of days apart asking if they got them.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Did he say what he is unhappy about? Why does he want the refund? Sounds like he's flat out lying about owning the domain and site.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrgoe
    don`t hit me, but I actually had great experiences with flippa. I even managed to get unsuspended when talking to their support center and telling them exactly what happened. And that was not so long ago.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Smale
    My advice would be stop talking to the buyer. Sounds like he's just trying to screw you over. Block his calls/emails etc. He will get bored eventually.

    Flippa support can be a bit hit and miss - they certainly shouldn't be threatening you to refund the buyer "or they will suspend you". Sounds like borderline blackmail to me. If the buyer is disputing - the burden of proof should be on him to prove he has return the site. If it were me I would just send Flippa a copy of confirmation that your domain had been pushed (most registrars will do this or have some sort of notification on a dashboard). If you think you're in the right, do not refund him, regardless of the threats.

    Just my 2 cents, but sounds like a classic idiot buyer on Flippa (of which there are thousands). He's not going to "sue you" - anyone who threatens that is full of shit and seeing as the sale was through Paypal I can't imagine it was much more than $1000 anyway - which would not even be worth calling a lawyer over.
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    • Profile picture of the author girltime
      Originally Posted by Thomas Smale View Post

      My advice would be stop talking to the buyer. Sounds like he's just trying to screw you over. Block his calls/emails etc. He will get bored eventually.

      Flippa support can be a bit hit and miss - they certainly shouldn't be threatening you to refund the buyer "or they will suspend you". Sounds like borderline blackmail to me. If the buyer is disputing - the burden of proof should be on him to prove he has return the site. If it were me I would just send Flippa a copy of confirmation that your domain had been pushed (most registrars will do this or have some sort of notification on a dashboard). If you think you're in the right, do not refund him, regardless of the threats.

      Just my 2 cents, but sounds like a classic idiot buyer on Flippa (of which there are thousands). He's not going to "sue you" - anyone who threatens that is full of shit and seeing as the sale was through Paypal I can't imagine it was much more than $1000 anyway - which would not even be worth calling a lawyer over.

      Great responses from everyone.
      And yes, Thomas is on target completely.
      Usually Flippa support is helpful.

      I did hear back via PM from the buyer.
      When I let him know Flippa informed me that the buyer told him he doesn't have the domain or website, he glossed over that information and told me he put the domain in an account and he put privacy on it because it was free.

      (Which is funny since the registrar's legal department told me it was fake privacy info last week)

      He then told me to refund his money again.

      This is a classic case of an impulse buy and someone trying to be pushy and sneaky instead of acting like a grown up.

      I know it's nearly 9 am in Melbourne and hope that Flippa agrees that the buyer has everything and is trying to play everyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vanilla Gorilla
    What was the buyer's issue with the site?
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  • Profile picture of the author girltime
    I am happy to report that things have been settled and Flippa support offered a very helpful response and all is well.
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